A Mermaid's Tail
by Rimini157
Summary: With Lewis on his way back to the Gold Coast, Will back in to competitive diving and Rikki back at the café. Life is just as it used to be and everything will be fine but will it?
1. Rikki and Zane

_Zane's POV_

_"Help! Anyone. Help" I could see Rikki in the water. Stuck on the beach. Her tail looked so beautiful, it was shining in the sun. From the story her body told she seemed paniced but she just laid there, smiling and minute she was shouting help, the next she was all happy. Then there were two men, dressed completley in black and running towards her. I went to get up but my body seemed stuck. It seemed like a while but I soon got up, but it was far from over, the two men picked up the beautiful mermaid and started to run away. I tried to run after her but I just kept tripping and just all together not running. The two men ran away with Rikki and I screamed after her..._

_..."Rikki!" I woke up sweating and panic raced all the way through my body. 'It was all just a dream,' I thought. A small smile came on my face as I felt really realived._

_"Zane? What's going on," My dad said, after I ovbiously woke him up._

_"Nothing Dad, just a bit of a bad dream, I suppose."_

_"Another one about Rikki? That's the third this week and it's only Thursday, you need to get over her." I sighed. I thought I had gotten over her but then the nightmares started. My dad sat on the end of my bed and shook his head. "What are we goona do with you Zane?" I decided to completly ignore this comment and put my head back to try and get some rest giving my dad the que to go._

_Waking up in the morning, I stared at my clock, 9:00. I was late for work! I quickly jumped out of bed and dressed myself in my usual, denim jeans and grey top, just in time to shove a quick breakfast of butter on toast down my throat. I wanted to savour this before having to face Sophie but I was already really late, and I knew what she could be like. Rushing out the door, I grabbed a jacket and left without saying bye to my dad. I ran until I could run no more, but soon enough I was at the entrance of Rikki's being greeted by an anrgy Sophie._

_"Why are you so late!" She yelled at me._

_"I'm sorry, I over slept, anyway this is my café, not yours," I snapped at her._

_"Awww. Was little Zaney Waney having nightmres about his ex-girlfriend again? nawww." I glared at Sophie._

_"Shut it, Sophie," I whispered trying to get her voice to lower aswell. I stormed off and went into my office to check on some orders we had coming in. I sat down in my comfy office seat and sighed when I saw Rikki's 'The Boss' sign on the desk, I held it in my hands and sunk into my seat and before I knew it my eyes were slowly slipping closed and I was falling asleep, not giving a second thought about Sophie._

_Rikki's POV._

_I stepped in the Café with Cleo, ready to meet up with Bella. Her hair was down today and it looked realy nice. "Do we have to meet in here Cleo? You know how I feel about this place?" I hated to call it 'Rikki's' because it's not really 'Rikki's' anymore, is it? _

_"Hiya, Bella," Cleo beamed as she saw Bella sat glaring at Sophie._

_"Oh, hi, Cleo and Rikki."_

_"What are you looking at?" Cleo giggled as she looked in the same distance Bella was._

_"Not much, just how Sophie goes around like she's bigger than everyone else, and she shouldn't escpaically after what she did the moon pool." Bella hated her from the start but after what she did to the moon pool, Bella hated her to the guts._

_"So how are things going with you and Lewis, anyway?" chatted Bella._

_"Good," smiled Cleo, "he's coming down next week for a few days, I can't wait to see him. What about you and Will?" I groaned as their conversation about their 'perfect' boyfriends dragged on._

_"Okay, but I haven't seen him a five days and he doesn't live too far away, he's so caught up in training lately." Bella explained how Sophie had got Will back into competitive and Bella saw my annoyed facial expression and they both apoligized._

_"Sorry Rikki, I just thought that you were over Zane..."_

_"I am! Can we just go now?" I asked, but it was more of a demand._

_"Sure," Bella answered. She finished the last sip of her mango smoothie and we headed towards the door. Cleo had stepped out of the fly screen and just as I was about to step outside of the café, I heard someone shout my name._

_"Was the Zane?" wondered Cleo. Heads turned as everyone in the café looked towards the office, that's when it was ovbious it was Zane. I decided to see what was going on so I headed towards Zane in the office but I was stopped by a laughing Sophie. "Don't worry yourself Rikki," she snarled at me, "He's just having one of his little nightmares." Nightmares? That involved me._

_"Let me pass Sophie." She just shook her head and her orange hair followed. She laughed as she saw the fustration on my face. Quickly, I went to grab the door handle but she grabbed it instead. I slowly clenched my fist and Sophie yelped. "Owww!" She cried removing her pale hand from the metal door handle. Before she had time to put her hand back where it was, I pushed my hand down on the door handle and barged my way into the office, all the time Cleo and Bella were only just behind me. Inside the office I saw Zane half asleep. He looked hot. Sweat dripping down his face, he was breathing heavily. "Zane?" His face shot up, he was now ovbiously fully awake. _

_"Yeah." He said as if nothing had happened. _

_"You shouted my name."_

_"Did I? Must have been hearing things," I narrowed my eyes and he knew that I knew he was lying. _

_"Tell me the truth Zane. Sophie said something about nightmares?"_

_"Well to be honest Rikki. I don't see what this has anything to do with you, when you broke up with me!" He yelled._

_"Because you kissed that idiot out there running my café!" The whole room froze as I mentioned the word 'mine'._

_"Rikki. Did you just call it your café?" _

_"No. I mean yes, I mean... Shut up!" I walked out the office completly frustrated with Zane._

_"Rikki! Wait!" I turned around and Zane was right in my face, I didn't need to say anything because the look on my face asked the question 'What?'. A small but sweet smirk spread on his face. I was tempted to punch him and run away but I thought I'd give him this one chance. He placed comforting hand on my back but I didn't resist. "What are you d..." But his next move cut me short. He leaned in and his warm lips pressed against mine. I liked. Actually I loved but I couldn't let him win, not after he kissed Sophie. I put an annoyed look on my face, trying to hide my grin. I stomped out of the café with Cleo and Bella close behind. "What was that?" laughed Cleo, "he must be stupid to think that you'd take him back after what he did to you."_

_"He's not stupid," I sighed._

_Zane's POV._

_The whole café fell silent as Rikki walked out. I felt so embaressed, she would never take me back and couldn't face it. I felt like running away and never coming back but this was my café not Sophie's and if I went she would take over, I think that was the only thing stopping me. Turning around, I noticed all my staff had stopped to stare aswell. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get back to work!" I yelled. I'd been sat in the office just thinking about Rikki. When I placed my hand on her back, she smiled before frowning. I just didn't make sense. I sat think about the beautiful blonde haired girl for over ten minutes before Sophie came in and intrupted my thoughts. "What a preformance," she laughed._

_"Sophie, why don't you just do yourslef a favour and get out."_

_"What?"_

_"I said get out. Your fired!" I shouted. She threw her Rikki's apron on the floor and stormed off like a five year old. Now that Sophie was fired, I had an idea._

_Taking the newly wrapped 'The Boss' sign out of my pocket, I knocked on Rikki's trailer door. Her dad answered and that was akward. "Is Rikki home?" I asked quietly._

_"No." He answered grumply._

_"Well can I wait for her?" He hesitated but ovbiously not knowing what had between us, he invited me in. The trailer looked diffrent it didn't have the green peeling wallpaper it did last time, and they had new couches. Cream. My favourite colour. "When's Rikki coming back?"_

_"I don't know Zane." I nodded in understandment, she was probably swimming. I sat back and waited for Rikki getting more uncomfortable being with her dad by the second but soon enough I sure her walking up towards her trailer. "Im just gonna, go and see Rikki." He nodded not really paying attention to me, just more to whatever he was watching. I quickly got up and walked outside the trailer. When Rikki saw me, I can't really describe the look on her face, it wasn't disgust but it wasn't happiness. I once again brought out her present and handed it to Rikki without saying a word at her beautiful blonde plates out of her face, she went to say something but I just told her to open it. Slowly she took the purple paper of her present. When I was certain she had seen it I spoke ," Come back Rikki."_

_"Not while she's there Zane." She sighed while she spoke and shoke her head. She really thought that I'd ask her to come back while Sophie was there. All this time I thought she was being stupid. Sophie kissed me, but now I realize why she was mad. I didn't stop her. I was ready to apoligize, that wasn't my thing but Rikki was definatly worth it._

_"But that's the thing Rikki, she's not. Come back and be the manager.I'm so sorry for what happened, please come back." Rikki thought about it for while and then her gentle smile made it's way on her face. "Okay. As long as you promise to stop making stupid mistakes." After laughin, I kissed her, and this time she didn't walk away. I just smiled along with her._

**I know it's not all that good, but oh well:L! It's only my first fan fiction so I don't really care. Reviews would be nice:)**


	2. Denman Returns

**_Chapter 2._**

_Bella's POV._

_"Rikki, guess what?" Cleo asked, she was excited by something you could tell straight away, when she skipped into the café._

_"Cleo. I'm working, it'll have to wait." I know it didn't seem like Rikki but ever since she got the café back, she put all her time into it._

_"Rikki. Emma's coming back!" _

_"Really? No Way!" Rikki beamed._

_"Isn't this great Bella?" I nodded but I actually felt jealous, because ever since Cleo told Rikki about Emma coming back, all they could do was talk about Emma, as if I wasn't even their._

_"Remember that time when Emma first met Ash," laughed Cleo. Rikki laughed along. I felt so left out, I couldnn't share their stories, share their laughs, or share their thoughts, and I knew it was only going to get worse once Emma arrived. They stopped for a while, while Rikki made us all some smoothies, but it didn't take them long to rambling on about Emma again. Emma this. Emma that until I'd enough of it, "Is this all you can talk about. I thought you had work, Rikki!" They both looked at me shocked. "I'm sorry," started Cleo._

_"No, I'm sorry, Cleo, I didn't mean it, it's just all you've talked about for the past thirty minutes is Emma and I don't even know her." Rikki nodded, it seemed like it was an answer to my previous quesdtion, as she got up and went back to work._

_"Rikki. Wanna go come swimming?"_

_"Bella. I have loads of work to do and I needed to get all finished before to night so..." her sentence trailed off._

_"Come on, Rikki," Cleo persuaded._

_"Whatever," she laughed. She said a quick goodbye to Zane and we made are way to the docks._

_Simultaneously, we all jumped off the dock, and into the warm ocean, after comfirming with each other that there was no else around. It felt good gliding through the water with Cleo and Rikki not having to hear a story about Emma, or even the word 'Emma for that matter. There were lots of baby fish swimming around. They were all so cute, and they we noticed a family of dolphins. Cleo made her way over to them being the best with dolphins and soon enough we were all swimming with the dolphins, this was even better. After a while, we decided we needed a rest so we headed for maco. As we spotted the entrance to the moon pool, Cleo pointed to in a way which suggested she was asking to go in there, Rikki nodded. We swam inside, ready to relax before going back to Rikki's. I was the first to pop my head out of the water and to my suprise I saw a slim, blonde haired women facing the other way, I was lucky. If she was facing the my way she would have seen me. She was looking at some cell thing on her laptop with two other men. At excatly the same time Rikki and Cleo placed their heads above the water, both of their facial expressions were almost the same, hate, anger, shock, but Cleo also looked scared. They both took themselves back underwater, I gathered that I should too. Without saying anything they quickly swam out of the moon pool. I followed. Apon surfacing, I could see Rikki wasn't happy, her usually pale face, was nearly red with anger. Cleo's big happy eyes weren't so happy, more sad and scared._

_"What's happening and who was that?" I laughed._

_"Dr. Denman"_

_Rikki's POV._

_Dr Deman. Here? Now? Why? Too many thoughts were racing around my head, I had to go. Now. I was pretty much frightened about what was going to happen but there was no way I was gonna tell the others or let them guess. As I sped of threw the water, Cleo and Bella followed, as I aproach the usual beach where we dry off, I noticed it was actually pretty busy. I sighed as now I had to find another place to dry off. I swam for a while before I came across Lewis' special fishing place. That's where Cleo brought us the first time we became mermaids and me and Emma were practising on how not to grow a tail. When I saw the place it brought back lots of mermories. I pulled myself up onto the beach near the rockpool, closely followed by Bella and Cleo. I steam dried us all and I was going to say something but I had nothing to say but ovbiously Cleo did._

_"I think I'm gonna tell Lewis," Cleo started, "Rikki, you should maybe tell Zane." I nodded, just too shocked to say anything._

_Back at Rikki's I found it hard to tell Zane about Denman, since I didn't want to say her name never mind anything else._

_"Zane." I started. "There's something I need to tell you."_

_"And this is," Zane laughed._

_"Denman's back." Zane's laughing was cut short by my serious sentance._

_"Rikki, don't joke about things like that."_

_"You really think I would?" He shook his head. "Excactly."_

_"So what are you gonna do about.." but he didn't finish his sentence as somebody stepped into the café. "Denman."_

_"Nice to see you too Zane," she said sarcasticaly._

_"Your not welcome here Denman. Not after what you did to Rikki."_

_"Call me Linda, Zane, and to be honest Zane, you helped your little fish friend to get caught."_

_"Until I realized it was wrong,"_

_"And plus were not," I lowered her vioce before I said," mermaids anymore, you saw us change back!"_

_"Anyway, I want to put the past behind me, so can I have Strawberry Milkshake?"_

_"No. You heard Zane. Your not welcome here. Get out!" I shout, starteling my other customers. Denman didn't look impressed, she took out her phone and typed something before leaving my café. _

_"Anyway back to serving," Zane joked. I laughed but it was all fake, I was just running through what she could have put when she took out her phone. I didn't think this was the end, because I know Denman and she was ovbiously up to something. Cleo had watched the whole thing and after telling Lewis,over the phone,he new that he was the one that should go,when he was back, and see what Denman was up to. After all he was the one that had let Denman get her hands on one of our DNA in the first place._

**Sorry it's so short. I didn't know what to write but wanted to keep the next idea for the next chapter.**


	3. The Reunion

_Chapter 3 - The reunion._

_Zane's house._

No-one had been particually happy since they found out about Denman, but Cleo was still excited for the return of her, extremly missed boyfriend,"Lewis comes back today," She beamed to an annoyed Rikki, and a laughing Bella.

"As does Emma," added Rikki.

"Oh yeah," chuckled Cleo, she was so excited to be reunited with Lewis she hadn't given a second thought about Emma coming back, which was strange since that's all she had spoke about since she had found out. It was lucky that Emma and Lewis were coming off the same plane, since she had just finished the last part of her world trip, America.

"I can't wait to meet Emma," smiled Bella. At first she'd thought it would be a bad thing, but after she's thought about it more, maybe it was good. All the new old stories would be replace with new ones that involved Bella.  
>"Don't you think the moon pool will be a bit over crowded with four mermaids?" Cleo wondered.<br>"Well, we've had Zane and Will in there along with us, so it should be fine," laughed Bella.

"I suppose," Cleo laughed back.

"We have to go and pick up Lewis and Emma soon, Zane is going to drive us," Rikki informed the others. They all nodded to ensure Rikki they had heard what she had said.

"Am I?" joked Zane. He had agreed to do this because strangly he missed Lewis, he hated to admit but he did. Before Lewis had left, Zane and him had just started to become friends and then his placement in America had stopped it.  
>"What time do they get off the plane?" asked a curious Zane.<br>"3:30"  
>"Rikki! It's 3 now!"<br>"Really? Well it only takes an hour to get there so let's go!" One by one they all got into the car, It had just enough seats to fit the four in with another two seats for Lewis and Emma. Will had wanted to come, but there wasn't enough seats so they had to say no, which was fine with Zane. As well as Zane finally getting along with Lewis, he had started to hate Will even more by the second. The way he constantly looked down on Zane as if he was nothing, he'd even once said to Bella that Zane didn't deserve Rikki, which even Rikki herself would have disaggreed with if she had heard it.

_On the motorway.  
><em>

"I can't wait to see Lewis," Cleo said excitedly.

"As you have said, 21 times, and counting," Rikki replied angrily.

"Leave her alone Rikki, how would you feel if Zane went away," Bella asked.

"Relieved." She answered sarcasticly. Zane quickly turned round to give her a glare, before giving his full attention to the road, flicking his hair as he did so. "I'm joking," laughed Rikki quickly.

"I know," Zane answered, he wanted to lean in to kiss Rikki but he had to focus on the road. Rikki pressed the button for the radio and on came a song by her favourite band. She smiled as she listened to the music.

"Urghh. I hate this song," complained Zane. Rikki had a small laugh to her self as she listened to the words fly around her.

"Well I love it," said a stubborn Rikki. Zane shook his head as he tried to think of a diffrent song in his head. Rikki just stared at Zane she looked straight into his Zane's beautiful eyes, and she felt like she'd fallen for him all over again.

"Were only 5 minutes away," smiled Zane.

"Yayy!" shouted Cleo, " I can't wait to see Lewis."

"22." Pulling up at the airport, an even bigger smile spread itself across her face. In her mind all she could think about was Lewis. Rikki and Bella couldn't wait to see Emma, whereas Cleo and Zane were dying to see Lewis. They placed themselves in front of the automatic doors and waited for them to slide open. Looking at the big t.v like technology, they knew where they were going to meet Emma and Lewis off the plane. Once they found the depature area, there they saw, Lewis and The Gilbert family.

"Emma!" Rikki said running towards her.

"And you are?" Emma asked sarcastically, they both laughed and Emma hugged her in return. Cleo didn't say anything, she just stared at Lewis and he smiled back. He placed his luggage on the floor and walk towards Cleo pulling her close to him, and kissing her heavily. The pair still hadn't said a thing, the whole time they'd been with each other.

"I missed you," Lewis confessed.

"I missed you more," Once again they kissed. Lewis brought himself out and placed his fingers inbetween Cleos.

"Long time, no see." Laughed Zane to Lewis.

"Good to see you again," Lewis smiled at Zane.

"Oh, Emma, this is Bella," Rikki said introducing Bella.

"Hi, I'm Emma," said the blonde girl to Bella.

"Hiya," Bella smiled at Emma, she was finally meeting Emma, joing in on the laughs, joining on the stories. She knew the first week would all be about past stories, and what Emma got up to around the world, but Bella was finally happy with that.

"Do you wanna come back with us?" Asked Rikki.

"I'd love to." After Emma had asked her family, she followed the others out of the airport, watching some of the planes fly away and land as she did so.

"So, what's happening with you and Ash," Cleo asked curiously.

"Well, I talked to him every day while I was away and he told me once he move's out, he's moving back to the Gold Coast." Emma beamed as she thought about being with Ash again, the whole time she's been away, apart from Rikki and Cleo, he had been the only thing on her mind. Meeting Ash again was just a matter of was cut short of her thoughts by Bella,"That's good, Cleo told me about you and Ash," Bella smiled at Emma but she just nodded. She didn't know what to think of Bella. 'Was she my replacement?' thought Emma. She felt quite threatened by Bella, like she had taken over Emma while she wasn't there. She'd been away for so long, would she still be such close friends with Cleo and even Rikki. 'Of course I will' thought Emma 'They came to pick me up from the airport.' Just thinking this to her self convinced her that she would but what if Bella knew the secret? What if she didn't realise how important it was for them to keep it? but Cleo and Rikki wouldn't be that stupid, Bella probably doesn't even know, then she couldn't really replace Emma.  
>Half way down the motorway Rikki started to feel sick, really sick. Her face went a whole lot paler than usual and she looked incrediably tired. "Rikki? You don't look too good," Said Lewis.<br>"What!" shouted Zane,  
>"N-no, really, I'm f.." Her sentence didn't finish because Rikki went to sleep all of a suddden.<br>"Zane! Pull over!" shouted Cleo. Zane did as she said and pulled over. He took Rikki into the back of his car where there were no seats and gently placed her down. Lewis took out his first aid kit and Zane eyes widened.

"Really?" Zane questioned," Why do you have a first aid kit?"

"For when I need it,"

"When would you ever need a first aid kit," Lewis didn't saay anything, he gestured towards Rikki. "Point taken." He grabbed Rikki's head and checked for breath. For a split second when Lewis touched Rikki's head, Zane felt incrediably jealous before he remembered who it was. Lewis used his first aid kit to bring Rikki back around and it didn't take long. Just as quickly as she had gone out, she came back round and instantly turned to the left-hand side and threw-up just an inch from Lewis. Everyone but Lewis laughed, his face was priceless.

"Nothing harmful, just extreme car sickness I suppose," Lewis informed and everyone nodded in everyone was strapped back in to their car seats, Zane set off driving they were back at the Gold Coast, they decided to go back to Cleo's for abit after dropping Emma's bag's off at her house. Emma was suprised at how little Cleo's house had changed in comparision to how much she and eveyone else had even though she knew Cleo's house wasn't alive, but if it was that wouldn't have been the strangest thing that had happened to them. After getting settled on the couch, just as Bella had excpected they talked about waht Emma had got up to.

"Italy was amazing," she bragged before Cleo's dad walked into the room, "Emma. Good to see you," he smiled.

"You too," Emma replied.

"Cleo. I'm going out for abit and Kims visiting your mum." Cleo nodded to tell her father that she had heard what he said.

"Anybody want drinks?" asked Cleo. They all nodded, the journey had been exhausting and everyone was thirsty. Cleo grabbed a few cups and placed them on the counter so she could fill them up one by one and hand them to everyone. Just when she finished the last one she slipped on a loose carpet making her lose balance, spilling the final drink over the four girls, as they all turned to mermaids, a single thought popped into Emma's head, 'Bella.'  
>"This isn't what it looks like Bella, well I mean..." but her sentence was cut short as she saw that instead of two legs attached to Bella there was a single, much more, beautiful orange tail. "You aswell?" asked Emma. They all nodded.<br>"I'm sorry Emma, we forgot to mention, didn't wee?" laughed Rikki.  
>"So when were you at the moon pool?" she asked, very confused.<br>"I wasn't." Then Bella expplained about the equally beautiful pool that she'd found in Ireland when she was nine, and that's when she had become a mermaid.

"9?" Emma asked in amazement, "wow! So what power do you have?" all of a sudden, Emma was excited, a new mermaid. She hadn't even given a second thought about her first theory of being replaced. Bella stuck her hand towards her glass that Cleo had given her and the water changed into a jelly-like substance. Emma's face wasn't the only one struck with amazment still just couldn't get over Bella's power, it was probably the most incrediable one apart from Cleo's, that was something he could never get his head around. Bella was so gald that Emma liked her now, at first she thought Emma was always judging her but even in the past hour, she had realised that Cleo and Rikki's description of Emma's personalitly was increadibly accuraute."I have an idea," smiled Emma. "Let's go swimming,"

Rikki was about to nod before she remembered something, "Oh yeah, Emma? Just one more thing,"

"What?"

"Denman's back." Emma's heart sunk as she remembered the first time she met Denman. They all sat with sad looks on their faces, knowing that couldn't go swimming. Lewis felt incrediably sorry for the girls so he stood up and talked, "I'm gonna go and see what she wants, and I'll try and get her to leave," Cleos face lit up as she saw how thoughtful her boyfriend was when Zane saw this he realised how much he wanted to see this facial expression on Rikki's face. "And i'll help," Zane added. This did make Rikki happy, finally a break through on how important being a mermaid was to her. "Be careful." The boys kissed their girlfriends goodbye and set off to find Denman, very oblivous to what was about to happen.


End file.
